Arbitrum, a prominent layer-2 solution for Ethereum, has recently unveiled its Atlas upgrade, a significant milestone in reducing transaction fees and enhancing network efficiency.
The Atlas upgrade, developed by Offchain Labs, has been successfully activated on the Arbitrum network as part of the ArbOS 20 update. This upgrade, named “Atlas,” integrates Ethereum’s Dencun support and introduces blob transactions to streamline data processing at a lower cost. With the Atlas upgrade now live, Arbitrum is set to implement further reductions in execution transaction fees on March 18th.
Initially, the focus of the Atlas upgrade is on reducing layer-1 (L1) posting fees through EIP-4844, with additional reductions planned for the following week. Arbitrum aims to decrease the L1 surplus fee per compressed byte from 32 gwei to zero and lower the layer-2 (L2) base fee from 0.1 gwei to 0.01 gwei. This pricing adjustment will benefit applications on Arbitrum One without requiring any modifications.
Off Chain Labs has stated that Layer 3 Rollup chains built on top of Arbitrum One will automatically experience reduced fees. Additionally, self-governed Orbit L2 rollup chains are encouraged to adopt ArbOS Atlas and enable blob posting to enjoy similar benefits.
Arbitrum RaaS providers such as Altlayer, Caldera, Conduit, and Gelato have committed to upgrading existing Orbit chains to support the Atlas upgrade and the Ethereum Dencun upgrade. The Atlas upgrade also aligns Arbitrum with EVM’s security standards by incorporating support for EIP-6780, paving the way for future EVM improvements.
By optimizing transaction costs, the Atlas upgrade will enable previously impractical use cases like gaming, SocialFi, and DeFi exchanges. The recent implementation of Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade, aimed at reducing gas fees on L2 blockchains, is expected to drive greater adoption of the Ethereum ecosystem.
In the evolution of Arbitrum, a series of upgrades have been instrumental in shaping its capabilities and performance. Prior to the Atlas upgrade, key enhancements like the Arbitrum Nitro upgrade in August 2022 focused on improving network capacity and speed to address scalability challenges within the Ethereum ecosystem.
Furthermore, the Arbitrum DAO has decided to withdraw a proposal to donate around $1.28 million worth of ARB tokens to assist with legal expenses for Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev. This decision follows concerns raised by token holders regarding potential legal liabilities associated with the donations.
The collaborative nature of the cryptocurrency ecosystem is highlighted by the willingness of the Arbitrum community to offer financial support for legal matters, underscoring the importance of legal clarity and responsibility within the industry.